Cameron and Miliband go head to head - but voters did not trust Ed Miliband or Labour

Op-Ed: Having first voted in an English election in 1970 this writer has few illusions about British politics.

From that time as a young voter, and previously as a child, the experience was the British government going Tory and then Labour and back again with the Tories being in government more often or so it seemed.

The Tory years always seemed long and hard beginning with living in a small 'slum' property as a kid, three-day working weeks as a young married couple followed by job cuts and high unemployment levels in the UK meaning we moved one step forward and two back far too often.

In 1997 after a long period of Tory rule Labour were swept to government on the promise of a brighter future, jobs and a minimum wage.

They did not get everything right but world events which impacted on their legacy included 9/11 in the USA, the wars that followed in Iraq and Afghanistan and the global economic crisis of 2008.

They 'fixed the roof' while the sun shone but were not prepared for the hurricane of a global economic crisis which began in America.

Labour still had some credibility and was not entirely trashed in the 2010 General Election leaving the Tories to cosy up to the Liberal Democrats and form a coalition government, popularly called the Condems.

In May 2015, in what was predicted to be a tight election race, until the polls were closed, the Tories won enough seats to form a Conservative majority government.

The Tories may only have a majority of 12 but it is enough to push through damaging legislation and crippling austerity measures or cuts plain and simple. Chancellor George Osborne should be renamed Slasher Osborne.

Tuesday 48 Labour MPs rebelled in a House of Commons vote on the Work and Welfare Bill which will cut many of the poorest family's incomes in the UK.

Harriet Harman as acting leader of the Labour party instructed Labour MPs to abstain rather than vote against the bill.

This was a calculated measure but it has seriously backfired.

Harman may have wanted to show the electorate that Labour can be trusted on the economy or just that the party did not agree with Tory plans but would not vote for or against them but in the end the party looked shambolic.

Only one of the four Labour leadership candidates, Jeremy Corbyn, rebelled the party whip and voted against the bill. He joined 47 other Labour MPs one who had said he would swim through vomit to make sure he could vote to oppose the WWB.

The right wing mainstream media is rubbing its hands in glee Tuesday and reporting Labour pulling over to the far-left. These publications, middle-of-the-road voters, Tories and some Labour supporters see Jeremy Corbyn as the kiss of death to Labour.

But as people look forward to endless cuts and austerity they need hope and Corbyn may seem their best hope right now.

With the right support perhaps he could lead Labour to election victory in 2020 but don't hold your breath.

At time of writing Labour are in disarray and those leadership candidates who obeyed Harman are out on a limb; maybe that is what she wanted?

But either way this Labour supporter is still backing Andy Burnham albeit with some reservations.

Mr Burnham now has time to turn his leadership campaign around.

In the final analysis he is more electable as PM than Mr Corbyn who will be 71 when the 2020 General Election comes around.

The Labour leadership vote closing date will soon be here. Can Labour regroup and, under a new leader, form a real opposition party?

Those standing for party leader must get the balance right and appeal to core supporters, draw in new supporters, play by party rules but overall work toward ousting the Tories in 2020.

All in all a tough task.

“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”.” ― John Lydgate

If you are not careful, in trying to please all, you please no-one - MeMore:Labour is heading 'left, left, left': Tories' delight after dozens of MPs defy Harman on benefit cuts to draw party back to the 1980s - Mail OnlineDraw up 40% cuts plans, George Osborne tells Whitehall departments - BBC News

There is another angle to this (than the one being pushed by the Mainstream Media). Parliamentary procedure may seem strange to outsiders, but it is what it is. This is the Labour perspective, should anyone be interested, from MP Andrew Gwynne: "Firstly, let’s debunk a media myth: last night, the Parliamentary Labour Party, as a bloc, in its entirety, united, voted AGAINST the Welfare Reform and Work Bill." http://andrewgwynne.co.uk/2015/07/21/gwynne-blog-debunking-the-myths-on-commons-procedure-and-the-welfare-bill/

Reply

Eileen

21/7/2015 12:54:23 pm

Thanks for dropping by Pete and the additional info.

I agree they did. People may have wanted Labour to actively oppose the bill but I guess it would still have passed. That could have been seen as making a stand but also could have alienated flip flop voters.

Would the 48 rebels have broken the party whip if Harman was a man or te leader bot just a stand in? Not sure.

But I am disheartened by some self serving people, some on ego trips, who seem quite happy to rip the Labour party apart.

As I keep tweeting #WeAreAllLabour

Reply

Eileen

21/7/2015 12:56:36 pm

Thanks Pete-read that blog and tweeted but some will only belive what they want to belive.

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